Roberto Pena homered twice and drove in three runs in the loss.
TAMPA (March 16, 2021) – The USF Bulls (7-7) looked poised for another one of their late-inning triumphs on Tuesday night, but Stetson University (12-6) scored four runs in the ninth to escape USF Baseball Stadium with a 14-12 victory.
USF held three-run leads on three different occasions in the ballgame as the two teams traded blows all night long. After the Hatters claimed their first advantage of the tilt in the eighth inning, 10-9, the Bulls responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to regain an 11-10 lead.
A sacrifice fly by Carmine Lane (Lake Placid) knotted the score in the eighth, and Julio Cortez (Weston) was hit with an 0-2 pitch with the bases loaded to give the Bulls a one-run advantage heading to the ninth inning.
Stetson refused to go away, however, plating four runs in the ninth which proved to be too much to overcome even after Roberto Pena (Caracas, Venezuela) blasted his second home run of the evening in the bottom of the ninth.
Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) also homered in the setback, a solo shot to dead center in the sixth inning.
Brutcher, Cortez, Lane, Pena, Nick Gonzalez (Tampa), Riley Hogan (Orlando) and Matt Ruiz (Hialeah) each finished with a multi-hit game.
Notable
- The Bulls’ 17 hits matched a season high.
- Brutcher has six homers over his last 10 games.
- Gonzalez leads USF with a .438 average (14-32) over his last 10 games.
- All four of Pena’s home runs this season have come against Stetson.
- After compiling a seven-game winning streak, USF has now lost four in a row.
- The Bulls have scored 25 runs over their last two games.
- Collin Sullivan (Randolph, Mass.) started on the mound and was one of seven USF pitchers in the game. Sullivan struck out five over 4.1 IP in a no decision.
Up Next
The Bulls host Florida Atlantic in a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 19. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Friday at USF Baseball Stadium.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 56th season in 2021. The Bulls have won 1,628 games entering the 2021 season and made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three since 2015. The Bulls have won four conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt and 1 Metro) and had 126 all-conference selections. USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program’s fourth first round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who appeared in the 2020 World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Bulls saw continued success in head coach Billy Mohl’s first season in 2018, reaching 36 wins, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2012, and making the program’s latest NCAA Tournament appearance while also achieving a ranking in multiple polls for the final two months of the season.
– #GoBulls –
